A sparkling encounter: swimming with dwarf minke whales

She went with low expectations and a healthy dose of scepticism, but diving with dwarf minke whales in Queensland surprised and delighted Elle Hunt

It’s a rare – and foolhardy – tourism operator that talks in guarantees. Your satisfaction is staked on forces outside their control and their TripAdvisor review hangs in the balance – it’s in their interests to manage your expectations. This is never truer than when what’s being marketed is proximity to wild animals, more mercurial than even the weather.

Last year I went on a three-hour humpback whale-watching trip off Sydney Heads with a friend from out of town. After an hour and a half, the whales remained elusive, and the ship’s captain became increasingly bullish in pursuing possible sightings, charging directly into headwinds and across choppy seas.